


Rivulets on your skin

by so_damn_Mishalicious



Series: Witchery AU goodness [3]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fisherman Jaskier (kinda), Inspired by The Witcher, M/M, Merman Geralt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23446789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/so_damn_Mishalicious/pseuds/so_damn_Mishalicious
Summary: For the prompt: "who is the mermaid and who is the fisherman?"Geralt lives alone, far from any of his kind, tired of their rejection. After finally finding a place he can stay, there's a strange voice calling to him, a song luring him up to the surface. But what could wait there for him but trouble?(Aka Merman Geralt and not quite fisherman Jaskier bc it's better for him to stay a bard)
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Witchery AU goodness [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686538
Comments: 53
Kudos: 513
Collections: The Witcher Alternate Universes





	Rivulets on your skin

**Author's Note:**

> Please mind my usual warning: strange grammar and errors originate from English not being my first language and my own sloppiness (duh). Also as I have not played the Witcher games or read the books yet, I know shit about geography and flora of places so I will probably make and mix up some of this stuff. This is not beta read and I own absolutely nothing - not the characters, the setting nor anything related to them.
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated and brighten the writer's day ♥

It was Geralt's choice to be alone..

Merpeople usually lived and hunted in groups, protected by their numbers from mortal enemies like sharks, kraken or human hunters. He had tried living along their side, acting as normal and amenable as he could. But their judging looks and whispered insults hurt him more like a wound to his fins. 

_Freak_ , they whispered behind his back. _Mutant._

Geralt was considerably bigger and broader than any of his sisters or brothers. He held no serene beauty, no graceful form or luring face that could attract prey. His voice was deep and rough while others sounded like the ring of a bell. A full mop of white hair and golden eyes added to his alien appearance. He was strong, burly with bulging muscles from manoeuvring the seas since the day he was born, like he was made for brutality instead of a gentle seduction into a drowned death. _Abomination._

They didn't dare to lash out and he could sense their fear. A deep growl tore from his throat at realising he'd never be one of them. Never had a chance to begin with, telling himself he didn't mind their rejection. He had grown tired of living their way anyway. There was no satisfaction for him in killing drunk, disease-ridden sailors, tasting of fear and rum and shit when they realised their impending death. So he waited for a chance to come, to free himself and his so called family of their burden. _Monster._

One night while the pack decided to lure an unsuspecting ship into their deathly grip he made use of the distraction and disappeared. Swimming for hours through the open waters, no ulterior plan where to go. Just the dark currents surrounding everything and a simple thought edged into his mind. 

_Go further. Don't stop._

Geralt remembered swimming for days straight until he nearly passed out from exhaustion. He was glad to find some plants to feed on before settling into a hidden grove to rest. He had never been to this particular waters before. Nowhere close he could recognise any territorial marks of his kind. They'd be fighting claw and nails to protect what was theirs. The merman scoffed. He wasn't up for a fight - he just wanted some damn peace.

The area was pleasant enough to stay in, warm currents and mild tides ensured plenty of fish and flora to live off. Geralt made sure to inspect his new home, every nook and cave one could hide in, in case he'd need it though he never did. Sighing comfortably he used the opportunity to lie in the more shallow waters near the shore, soft rays of sun warming his scales. Relaxation settled into his body, chasing away the memories tormenting him. This was pure bliss. Finally some blessed silence for his injured heart to heal.

+++

It couldn't be more than a few months after he settled down when he heard it for the first time. The merman had been stalking a rather tasty looking octopus as something travelled through the water. It was a song, he noticed, sang by a voice brushing through the ocean like silk. The prey saw his chance to flee and took it, leaving behind the disgruntled predator snarling at the offensive noise. For a moment he dreaded one of his siblings could have drawn near, settling down here, in his sanctuary. But no, the longer he listened the clearer it got that the magnetic magic lure of a siren's voice was utterly absent from the melody meddling with his senses. Not a mer then, what else though was capable of making such delicious noise? Definitely something not worth the trouble it brought, he chided himself. He set out to hunt again. An empty stomach was never a good companion.

It had been three more days of regular torment by the voice and Geralt felt his patience run thin. Why couldn't he have some fucking peace? It wasn't much he was asking for. Shoving away the seahorse that stubbornly attached itself to his side or mostly his hair, he made left his hiding spot. Roach, said seahorse, shot him a judgemental look while it sought out a new place to rest on. He all but grumbled, feeling at least a bit sorry for the tiny creature before looking back up where the sun reflected on the water. Could this be a trap? Did anyone know he was here? There was a small village of humans down the coast but he made sure never to get too close. Whatever it was, it didn't seem intended to vanish any time soon. The decision not to take a risk and try to locate what he dealt with, made him move towards the surface. Maybe he'd be able to shut it up once and for all, his aim at hurling shells had always been above average.

The first breath was always the most difficult as his gills stopped working and his lungs kicked into action instead. The weather was mild as always, a soft breeze tugging on his wet locks as the air flooded his system. Carefully approaching the shore, he hid behind some massive rocks that obscured him from discovery but enabled him to glance around. Seated in the dry portion of the sand was a human, a male. He couldn't have been older than just growing out of his teenage years, no wrinkles present on his face. The sun dipped his chestnut hair in a faint golden hue, shining on gentle features. There were only hints of hard lines visible in the human's body, reminding Geralt more of his kind with its lithe, graceful form. Skilled hands flew over the strings on a lute's neck he held in a well-versed grip while the man's eyes kept dancing between his instrument and the open sea. They were of the same colour, like a premade match decided upon his creation. _Give him eyes as blue as the sea on a sunny day._

The words of the song hang heavy in the air. It told about unhealthy love, sung by the one that had given his heart away only to be hurt over and over again. It's melody had a bittersweet melancholy clinging to it, enhanced by the words tumbling from the man's rosy lips.

_"Her current is pulling you closer and charging the hot, humid night. The red sky at dawn is giving a warning: You fool, better stay out of sight!"_

His voice rose and sank perfectly to each note, carrying so much emotion that it ached in a twisted delicious way to listen. Geralt's stomach churned in a strange sensation that tried to compel him into consoling the mortal. A foolish nuisance it was. In no way he could give away his existence to a stranger. His kind was treasured among hunters, their bodies torn apart, sold to collectors and sorcerers for outrageous prices. Still the feeling lingered, amplified as he caught the suspicious glint of moisture in the singer's eyes.

_"I'm weak my love, and I am wanting. If this is the path I must trudge, I welcome my sentence, ive to you my penance. Garrotter, jury and judge."_

It went over the merman's head how one could want something so dearly to rather despair over it then to let go. He learned not to need anyone and the last thing he wanted, was someone needing him. It protected him from pain and loss, a wall built around his heart that had been hurt too often. 

The man's song came to an end and he eased the hold on the instrument, softly sighing to himself. The lute was carefully put on his lap, his eyes continued to search the ocean for whatever he was hoping to find. Fortune didn't seem to side with him, so he got up, brushing the sand of his humble clothes and trotted back towards a lonely hut not too far from the water, nestled in the linings of the woods nearby. Geralt waited until he disappeared out of sight before giving up hiding. In the end he hadn't told the man to shut it, his music appealing to a deep desire within his being. A craving for the song of his people. It hadn't been the same but it soothed an itch he had been too stubborn to scratch and gods - he missed singing so much. There was no way he could risk that though, the chance of someone overhearing him far too great. So he stayed quiet and retreated back to his lair, running a hand over Roach's back as she greeted him. Maybe he would be fortunate enough for the whole ordeal to stop soon. Then everything would return back to how it had been, just him and the silence. Something feeble within his treacherous self hoped it wouldn't. He made sure to shove that far back on the shelf it came from.

Of course he was granted no such mercy. The singer stopped by the shore every day, playing his music, voicing his thoughts to the waves. There were more songs other than the one Geralt heard, a whole repertoire of ballads performed to no-one but his own ears. He was drawn to the surface to listen day after day, slowly turning to weeks. Soon he started to wonder who the man was, no humble fisherman should bear such proficiency in word and song. Also the man couldn't fish for shit, sometimes he did try and failed miserably. It was one of those days again where the brunette tried his best to catch a fish with a strange concoction on a rod which might have been his own design and Geralt had to bite back a groan. No way this could work properly, bigger fish would never mingle in the shallows like that. He pondered over the possibility to hunt for some fish himself and leave them somewhere the human was sure to find them. At least his own stupidity wouldn't starve him to death then.

"Love the way you just sit in the water and brood."

A clear voice far too close for his liking startled him out this thoughts and he whipped around to face the idiot human, that now stood besides him in the water. How could he miss out on him wading here in the first place?! Fuming at himself that something like that slipped past his notice, he pushed himself away from the rock he used to stayed close to, ready to submerge. Just as he set out to move, a plea reached his ears, uttered hurriedly before it was too late.

"Please wait! I didn't mean to scare you and I mean you no harm. I'm just here to talk."

The merman was shocked to find he really _did_ stop on that notion. A distrustful glare was thrown at the human that made no indication of moving closer. Slowly the man raised his hands in a soothing motion to his head, so the other could witness him not bearing weapons. 

"Please… I haven't been able to speak to someone decent in what feels like forever. And though I enjoy having an audience or better a secret admirer, I'd rather just… sit down and talk for a little longer?"

His blue eyes mirrored his hopeful proposal, curiosity and awe lighting up his face. Naive of him to think he could be a threat to Geralt. A well-placed grip on the other's weak body would be enough for the merman to end him. But that could attract more humans, searching for that one, so this was no option.

He shouldn't stay, he couldn't. 

So how come he found himself still lingering around while the human moved back to the shore, shedding his wet clothes there to dry? Madness, probably. A twisted illness corroding his mind. The sight of the human smiling at him like sun after long cold winter days made his heart flutter. Great, so it spread to his other organs as well. Who knew how long he had before it consumed him entirely.

Like it had been proposed they kept to talking. Well the human talked, Geralt more stuck to grunts and other noises indicating he listened to the rambling after offering his name in return for the human's. He stayed in fair distance, always able to dash away should he need to.

So that day he got to know the bard - that wasn't a fisherman as he suspected in the first place - named Julian Alfred Pankratz but preferred to be called Jaskier. His tale went that he was the Viscount de Lettenhove's son and after his studies of arts at the university of Oxenfurt, he might have made some unwise decisions and "hung his sausage into many of the wrong royal pantries". So now he had to lay low to avoid being ended by mercenaries, enraged husbands or the furious fathers he left in his wake. Also his recent muse, a Countess de Stael, had been less than amused about his shenanigans, kicking him out of her home and refused to aid him in his time of forced exile. She also blocked every outreach for contact and that caused the bard deep heartache. Geralt wasn't sure he had ever heard such ridiculous nonsense before. Still he stayed, offering a pathetic try at consoling the bard's obvious distress. "So you’ve mistaken the stars reflected on the surface of the lake at night for the heavens. This happens, you're only human. You'll find a way to figure out was pleases you. Life's too short to constantly ponder about what had been and what will be."

Jaskier's look of dumbstruck surprise and pure admiration made him shrink away. It also made his skin tingle in a strange way. If he were to possess the ability to blush, he'd have done so by now. The happy smile emerging on the other's face didn't help one bit. "Oh my Geralt - I didn't know you had it in you! A poet by heart, a vessel of beauty and an aura of destiny, heroics and heartbreak? That's hardly fair, don't you think?". "Shut up, bard."

They kept bantering back and forth for a while, Jaskier visibly mesmerized by the chance to talk to a mercreature without any risk of drowning. Hours flew by, the sun began to set, painting the sky in fiery colours and only then Jaskier rose from his spot on the rocks. 

"Though I hate to break apart this incredibly delightful conversation, I think it'd be better for me to go back. I still have some arrangements to make, to turn this shit whole of a hut into a suitable place to stay."

Their eyes met again, an unearthly pull between them. Geralt just nodded, choosing not to speak or act on it. The brunette secured the lute he always carried around to his back, then turned to him once more. His expression bordered on sheepish, with hints of hope. 

"Well I… I surely enjoyed this little thing we had here. May I ask for your approval of a continuation? There's a song I'm about to write and I'd love your opinion on it's quality - three words or less are totally acceptable."

Geralt knew again, he shouldn't. Even meeting with a human once was one time too much. 

_You need no one, remember?_

Looking up in those brilliant blue eyes, begging him to agree, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. He was weak for wanting this, just like in the damn song. A deep sigh left his lips.

_"Fine."_

**Author's Note:**

> I'd be up for a part two on this - just need to decide for a good or bad ending. What do you guys prefer?


End file.
